Heart Healthy Archives - Page 24 of 26

Savory Hanukkah Latkes

LATKES!

Potato Zucchini Latkes

Non-Fat Yogurt

Smoked Wild Sockeye Salmon

Whitefish Caviar

Today is the first day of Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, referring to the lights kindled on each of the holiday’s eight nights. We eat foods fried in olive oil to commemorate the ancient miracle that occurred in the second century BCE. A jug of olive oil, which held enough oil to last for one day, burned for eight when the Holy Temple in Jerusalem was rededicated.

The word Hanukkah means rededication. Our latkes (potato pancakes) are fried in olive oil and served with yogurt. Dairy products are also a traditional Hanukkah food, in honor of our Jewish heroine, Judith.

2 peeled russet potatoes

1 zucchini

1/2 red onion

fresh dill

Grate the potato, zucchini, and onion in a food processor.

Add a handful of fresh dill.

Remove the potato mixture from the food processor, one handful at a time. Squeeze out as much moisture as possible by hand. Place each handful in a large bowl. Add enough flour to lightly coat the mixture. Add Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Mix well. Lastly add egg whites to bind the mixture.

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan. When oil is hot, add mounds of the potato mixture. Turn the heat to medium. When the bottom of each latke is nicely browned, flip and brown the other side.

Cooking latkes over medium heat turns the outside a nice crispy golden brown and gives the interior a chance to cook through. Drain on paper towels.

Since the latkes are fried, non-fat yogurt is a balanced accompaniment while egg whites help keep the cholesterol content down as well. And with the salmon’s heart healthy omega-3 fatty acids, could these latkes be considered a guilt-free holiday indulgence?

Smoked salmon rosettes are made by slicing the smoked salmon into strips with one end thicker than the other. Roll the thick end towards the thin end to make a rosette. Top each latke with a small dollop of non-fat yogurt, a salmon rosette, a small scoop of whitefish caviar, and fresh chive garnish. Serve with extra yogurt and fresh dill.

Enjoy the Festival!

Happy Hanukkah!

Salmon & Salmon Skin Spinach Salad, Miso Chile Lime Dressing

Wild King Salmon Filet & Crispy Salmon Skin

Baby Spinach

Black & White Sesame Seeds

Bonito Flakes

Kizami Nori

Miso Chile Lime Dressing

My Citrus Salad Tree was planted a year ago. The first fruit to ripen is the Bearss Lime Tahiti Seedless, also known as a Persian Lime. This is a citrus tree that has 5 varieties of fruit grafted onto one trunk. In addition to the Persian Limes, there are Valencia Orange, Honey Mandarin, Late Lane Navel, and Minneola Tangelo (a cross between grapefruit and tangerine).

Each arm is tagged.

I’m using the Persian Lime in this dressing.

Cannot wait for the rest of the fruits to ripen!

Miso Chile Lime Dressing:

2 t. Miso (shiromiso, white soybean paste)
1/2 c. Toasted Sesame Oil
2 T. Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
2 t. Soy Sauce (low-sodium)
2 T. Fresh Lime Juice
2 t. Red Chile Pepper Flakes

Whisk all ingredients together. Miso dressing is one of my favorites, I like to make different versions for different salads. In this version I substituted white miso for red, lime juice for lemon, and red chile flakes for ginger. My original recipe here.

Buy Fresh Wild King Salmon filet with skin on. Rinse under cold water and pat dry with paper towel. Slice off the skin leaving about a half inch of meat attached. Toss with salt and pepper.

Separate the dressing; one part for salad, one part for marinade. Marinate the filet.

Place salmon skin slices (skin side up) and filet on a broiler pan. Broil under high heat for about 8 minutes until the skin is crispy and the filet is just cooked.

Toss the warm crispy salmon skin slices with baby spinach and miso chile lime dressing.

Sprinkle with black and white sesame seeds, bonito flakes (shavings from dried smoked bonito, a type of tuna) and kizami nori (roasted shredded seaweed). Top with salmon filet.

The spinach wilts slightly amidst the crispy skin and warm filet. Really enjoyed the different textures and bright flavors here. I’m looking forward to creating more citrus-based dressings as the fruits on my Citrus Salad Tree ripen! Please let me know if you have an interesting recipe using any of the fruits mentioned above.

Carrot Salad with Red Beans, Miso Dressing

Shredded Carrots, Napa Cabbage, Red Beans,

Snap Peas, Scallions, Sunflower Seeds, Cilantro

Miso Dressing

These beans are Salvadorian Red Beans, quite similar to kidney beans, but smaller. I cook them in water over medium-low heat with a bay leaf, salt, and a smashed clove of garlic. These beans do not need to soak, so they can be ready in about an hour.

Perhaps you’ve participated in The Well-Seasoned Cook’s My Legume Love Affair event? Now in its 14th edition! I am sending my Carrot Salad with Red Beans over to Susan along with hearty congratulations for her on-going super successful event. If you are looking for bean inspiration, My Legume Love Affair is the place to go! It was my pleasure to host the event last May, so many unique and tasty legume dishes were shared here.

Dressing:

2 t. Miso (I use Akamiso, red soybean paste)
1/2 c. Toasted Sesame Oil
2 T. Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
2 t. Soy Sauce (low-sodium)
2 t. Fresh Yuzu (or lemon) Juice
2 t. Minced Ginger

Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste, and adjust ingredients to your liking as some miso is more salty than others, you might even want to add a little sugar. Toss with shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, red beans, snap peas, sliced scallions, sunflower seeds, and cilantro.

I brought this salad to my friend

Sal The Real Estate Gal’s

Orange House Party

A nice but unfortunately-painted house went on the market. And although the house has many fine features, including a porch with an ocean view, it is, alas, bright orange. My friend Sally McDonald is a fabulous realtor (I bought and sold a house with her) and she is terrific at marketing and entertaining. Here, instead of ignoring the fact that the house was orange, she held an Orange Party, where everyone brought orange food and wore the color orange. She served mimosas and apricot beer. We had a blast, and I especially enjoyed meeting lots of new people from our neighborhood.

A sale is now pending on the orange house!

Could it be as a result of the Orange Party?

Thanks for the great time, Sal!

And hello to all my new San Pedro friends!

Miso Glazed Swordfish, Cannellini Asian Slaw

Miso Glaze

1/2 c. Miso
2 T. Sake
1 T. Sugar

Thanks to Jenn, The Leftover Queen and the Foodie BlogRoll for the gift of a subscription to Saveur. In the very first issue I received, there were many exciting recipes and ideas including this one of Miso Glazed Fish, issue No. 118.

To accompany Saveur’s miso glazed fish recipe we prepared an Asian-style slaw with cannellini beans and miso sesame dressing.

Dressing:

1 t. Miso (I use Akamiso, red soybean paste)
1/4 c. Toasted Sesame Oil
1 T. Seasoned Rice Wine Vinegar
1 t. Soy Sauce (low-sodium)
1 t. Fresh Yuzu (or lemon) Juice
Black & White Sesame Seeds
Minced Ginger

Whisk first five ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste, and adjust ingredients to your liking as some miso is more salty than others, you might even want to add a little sugar. Add a pinch of minced ginger and a small amount of sesame seeds for color.

Cannellini Asian Slaw

Miso Sesame Dressing

Cannellini beans are tossed with shredded napa and red cabbage, sliced scallions, shredded carrots, radish sprouts. Tossed with Miso Sesame Dressing.

My Legume Love Affair Contribution: It continues to be one the best monthly events, created by Susan, The Well-Seasoned Cook. This month hosted by Laurie of Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska. Say Laurie, I’ve been reading about the eruption of Mt. Redoubt on the Kenai Peninsula, spent some time there in the ’90’s! Beautiful place indeed! Hope everyone remains safe.

Are you a bean aficionado? Make sure to check out Legume Love!

Fresh swordfish steaks are seasoned with fresh ground pepper then coated with Panko breadcrumbs, sautéed in canola oil until a nice brown crust forms. Flip the swordfish and brown the other side.

Spoon miso glaze on the browned crust and cook briefly under the broiler until the miso glaze is caramelized.

Miso Glazed Swordfish and Cannellini Asian Slaw

My dear dear longtime friend Charlotte and her husband Mark are in So Cal for a few days to visit family and a friend (me).

Charlotte and Mark drove to my town, San Pedro, where we checked out a neat landmark at the Port of Los Angeles: The SS Lane Victory, a WW II cargo ship. Then went back to my house and cooked this miso glazed swordfish, together, like old times.

You see, she and I met as prep cooks in a restaurant called the Ute City Bank in Aspen, Colorado in 1978. (Over 30 years ago, how is that possible?) We became friends, then roommates, cooked together, skied and partied together and then went our separate ways…pursuing our careers and our lives. And we remain forever forever friends. Love you KH (my nickname for her) Charlotte!

Green Risotto

Recipes and Reminiscences

from the Home of

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

My foodie friends and I are having another themed dinner party soon. The theme is going to be a tribute to Jackie Kennedy. We will wear pill box hats and pearls, and cook dishes of White House Chef René Verdon and of Marta Sgubin, Jackie’s personal chef.

So I’ve gotten out my Kennedy cookbooks and started to look for inspiration. That’s where I found the amazing Green Risotto. In Cooking for Madam by Marta Sgubin.

Marta said, “I loved to serve this for lunch in winter, because it was food with such a beautiful color.”

Heat 1/4 c. olive oil in a heavy saucepan. Add a finely chopped onion. Sauté until golden brown.

Add 1 1/2 c. arborio rice and stir until each grain is coated with oil. Add 1/2 c. white wine and cook until the wine has evaporated. Add about 5 c. hot vegetable (or chicken) stock gradually as absorbed, stirring continuously until the rice is al dente.

Liquefy fresh spinach leaves with a small amount of water in a food processor.

Add the liquid spinach to the risotto.

Serve with (optional) Parmesan on the side.

Oh! Have you heard that there’s a huge virtual party going on? Legendary Italian cooks Marie and Maryann are hosting the second annual Festa Italiana. A grand buffet bigger and finer than any you’ll find in Vegas! Come join us for an Italian party like no other. I’m bringing Marta’s Green Risotto.